Post by Pope Pius XII on Jan 18, 2010 21:04:20 GMT -5
Correspondence addressed to FDR from My Noble Pontiff.
With the upcoming liberation of Rome we are cheerful but, in regards to the bombing I feel obligated to send this request to you, your excellently.
Rome, parent of western civilization and for well nigh two thousand years center of the Catholic world, to which millions, one may risk the assertion, hundreds of millions of men throughout the world have recently been turning their anxious gaze, we have had witness the harrowing scene of death leaping from the skies and stalking ancient and priceless Papal basilica of St. Laurence, one of the most treasured and loved sanctuaries of Romans, especially close to the heart of all supreme pontiffs, and visited with devotion by pilgrims from all countries of the world.
God knows how much we have suffered from the first days of the war for the lot of all those cities that have been exposed to aerial bombardments, especially for those that have been bombed not for a day, but for weeks and months without respite. But since Divine Providence has placed us head over the Catholic Church and Bishop of this city so rich in sacred shrines and hallowed, immortal memories, we feel it our duty to voice a particular prayer
and hope that all may recognize that a city, whose every district, in some districts every street has its irreplaceable monuments of faith or art and Christian culture, cannot be attacked without inflicting an incomparable loss on the patrimony of Religion and civilization.
I would advise that your commander take a better look at how he plans to liberate my dear city or, he may risk loss of support from its welcoming township.
With the upcoming liberation of Rome we are cheerful but, in regards to the bombing I feel obligated to send this request to you, your excellently.
Rome, parent of western civilization and for well nigh two thousand years center of the Catholic world, to which millions, one may risk the assertion, hundreds of millions of men throughout the world have recently been turning their anxious gaze, we have had witness the harrowing scene of death leaping from the skies and stalking ancient and priceless Papal basilica of St. Laurence, one of the most treasured and loved sanctuaries of Romans, especially close to the heart of all supreme pontiffs, and visited with devotion by pilgrims from all countries of the world.
God knows how much we have suffered from the first days of the war for the lot of all those cities that have been exposed to aerial bombardments, especially for those that have been bombed not for a day, but for weeks and months without respite. But since Divine Providence has placed us head over the Catholic Church and Bishop of this city so rich in sacred shrines and hallowed, immortal memories, we feel it our duty to voice a particular prayer
and hope that all may recognize that a city, whose every district, in some districts every street has its irreplaceable monuments of faith or art and Christian culture, cannot be attacked without inflicting an incomparable loss on the patrimony of Religion and civilization.
I would advise that your commander take a better look at how he plans to liberate my dear city or, he may risk loss of support from its welcoming township.
